As a new collector of Roseville pottery the different marks or lack of a mark can sometimes cause confusion or uncertainty if the vase you are about to purchase or already have in your collection is really authenic original Roseville.
Some common questions we receive about Roseville pottery marks and their answers are below:
1. Why are some pieces marked Roseville with raised lettering while other pieces marked Roseville with impressed lettering?
Roseville pottery patterns produced after 1935 and before 1940 were marked with the impressed Roseville mark. Roseville produced after 1935 and before 1940 is not marked with USA after Roseville. Roseville patterns produced in this time period include: Bleeding Heart, Clemana, Cosmos, Dawn, Fuchsia, Iris, Ixia, Moderne, Morning Glory, Moss, Pinecone, Poppy, Primrose, Teasel, Thornapple, and Velmoss.
Roseville pottery patterns produced after 1940 were marked with the raised Roseville mark and the letters USA. Roseville patterns patterns after 1940 include: Apple Blossom, Bittersweet, Bushberry, Clematis, Columbine, Foxglove, Freesia, Gardenia, Lotus, Magnolia, Ming Tree, Mock Orange, Peony, Silhouette, Snowberry, White Rose, Water Lily, Wincraft, and Zephyr Lily.
2. Why are some pieces of Roseville not marked at all?
Roseville pottery patterns produced between 1927 and 1935 were either marked with foil or paper labels or were unmarked. Roseville patterns from this time period include: Artcraft, Baneda, Blackberry, Cherry Blossom, Cremona, Dahlrose, Earlam, Falline, Ferella, Futura, Imperial II, Jonquil, Laurel, Monticello, Morning Glory, Sunflower, Windsor, and Wisteria.
3. Why are some Roseville vases from the same pattern found with different marks?
Probably the most confusion thing about Roseville marks is that you can find examples from certain patterns that are marked with either the impressed trademark or the raised mark or in some cases not marked at all. It is important to remember that several patterns were produced over long periods of time resulting in some examples having impressed marks and some examples having the raised marks. Roseville Pinecone was one of the most successful patterns produced and as such was produced for a long period of time. It is possible to find Pinecone not marked (which indicates a 1935 production date), marked with the impressed Roseville trademark (produced between 1936 and 1940), and marked with the raised Roseville USA trademark (pinecone produced after 1940). Other Roseville patterns that can be found with either the impressed mark or unmarked include Morning Glory and Velmoss.
The following link is another good resource for information on Roseville pottery patterns including dates of production as well as standard colors and typical marks. This link provides additional information including photos of Roseville pottery marks.
Greg Myroth
